Korean Job Discussion Forums

[On the other hand]

Just saw the headline as "breaking news" somewhere. I'll try to find more.

[mises]

Yeah, dead at 91. Long life. Apparently there are 15 unpublished books. I read a long time ago that he was waiting until he died to release them.

[On the other hand]

MSNBC

I was a pretty huge fan of Catcher In The Rye in high school, mid-80s, but looking back, I kind of wonder if I liked it because I thought that, being a rebellious teenager, I was somehow expected to like it. I read it later in my 20s, and wasn't quite as impressed. There are still some pretty classic passages, though.

For some reason, possibly from reading a thelogian's critique that made the linkage, I always think of Catcher as being a counterpoint to Lord Of The Flies, in terms of presenting diametrically opposite view's of human nature, as represented by the innocence, or lack thereof, of children.

A teacher of mine in high school opined that CITR should not be taught in high school English. Not because of it's foul language, but because all it does is hold up a mirror to the typical adolescent's psyche, without taking him or her beyond the parameters of youthful rebellion. Basically, it just flatters the target readership into believing that there is something inherently profound in their worldview.

Never got much into the Glass Family. Nine Stories has a few interesting items.

[Bondrock]

I had a similar experience. 'Catcher' seemed impressive when I was a teenager (in the early 70's). I tried reading it again about 5 years ago and didn't finish it. I re-read 'Lord of the Flies' last year and loved it.

'Catcher in the Rye' lost a lot of its shock value as society changed. Similar to 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' which was interesting but not great. After "the Happy Hooker" and similar books Lady Chatterley seemed pretty mild.

[banjois]

I think Catcher is one of those books that just loses their appeal once you're old enough to be out of Holden's mindset. Which maybe makes Salinger all the more remarkable to be able to capture that mindset in the first place. I had an aborted attempt at a re-read a while back, but I find the rest of his work still holds up very well.

I saw something a few months back about how contemporary youth don't understand Catcher in the Rye anymore. Kids these days, lemme tell ya....

[Ya-ta Boy]

I remember walking down the hall at school thinking with my next step I might just keep on going down, just like Holden at the curb. Like the others, my attempt at re-reading it failed.

I hope some of those books he had stashed away are up to the quality of his early work.

[banjois]

There better be a forthcoming Seymour novel.

[catman]

Almost ashamed to admit that I never read the book.

[Ya-ta Boy]

At last, an honest obit:

Bunch Of Phonies Mourn J.D. Salinger

CORNISH, NH�In this big dramatic production that didn't do anyone any good (and was pretty embarrassing, really, if you think about it), thousands upon thousands of phonies across the country mourned the death of author J.D. Salinger, who was 91 years old for crying out loud. "He had a real impact on the literary world and on millions of readers," said hot-shot English professor David Clarke, who is just like the rest of them, and even works at one of those crumby schools that rich people send their kids to so they don't have to look at them for four years. "There will never be another voice like his." Which is exactly the lousy kind of goddamn thing that people say, because really it could mean lots of things, or nothing at all even, and it's just a perfect example of why you should never tell anybody anything.

(from The Onion)